Sampson Carter steps up in UMass victory

Monday

Jan 28, 2013 at 6:00 AM

The UMass basketball team found itself in familiar territory late in Sunday’s game against Richmond. Thanks to second-half struggles, the Minutemen trailed, 63-56, with 6:02 left, and momentum was slipping further away.

By Kerri Fleming SPECIAL TO THE TELEGRAM & GAZETTE

The UMass basketball team found itself in familiar territory late in Sunday’s game against Richmond.

Thanks to second-half struggles, the Minutemen trailed, 63-56, with 6:02 left, and momentum was slipping further away. Chaz Williams’ 3-pointer and Raphiael Putney’s two free throws provided a little relief, but things took an even bleaker turn when clutch forward Terrell Vinson was called for his fifth foul.

But a different big man, one who has struggled to find his groove after having missed all of last season with a hip injury, made up the slack. Sampson Carter hit Cady Lalanne for a layup to tie it at 63-63, pulled down two rebounds, blocked a shot and hit a pair from the line with 2:11 left to help UMass to a 70-65 victory.

“That was a good win. That team just beat VCU, who’s a top 20 team,” said coach Derek Kellogg, whose Minutemen are 13-5 and 3-2 in the Atlantic 10. “I’m happy with my team right now. They fought and scrapped.”

Richmond is 13-8, 3-3 in the A-10.

The strong finish was something the Minutemen needed after squandering a lead they held for the first 22 minutes, 51 seconds. UMass went ahead, 36-29, after Williams started the second half with fast-break layup off a steal, but Richmond then went on an 8-0 run to take its first lead of the game.

The Minutemen didn’t regain the lead until Carter’s late free throws. The junior finished with 10 points and five rebounds.

The big difference came in the paint. UMass held the rebounding advantage, 32-23, including 26-14 defensively, and emerged with the win despite shooting just 3 of 15 from 3-point range.

“Teams that have had limited success against (Richmond) have gotten offensive rebounds, defensive rebounds,” Kellogg said. “You have to take advantage of those rebounding opportunities, especially defensively I thought our defensive rebounding was way better” than it has been.

Richmond’s offense ran on different engines in each half. All 13 of Wayne Sparrow’s points came in the first half, while Cedrick Lindsay (12 points) and Greg Robbins (10) controlled the game in the second.

The game started a tough conference run this week for the Minutemen, who travel to La Salle (7 p.m. Wednesday) and Charlotte (2 p.m. Saturday).

“This was a big win for us because we were 2-2, so if we would have lost this, we would have been 2-3,” senior guard Freddie Riley said. “It would have dropped us down a lot in the standings.

“We needed a big win going into the South. We usually don’t play well there. So this is really important for us.”